


No Words Needed (I can read the apology in your face)

by amy_vic



Category: West Wing
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-09
Updated: 2010-03-09
Packaged: 2017-10-07 20:06:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/68767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amy_vic/pseuds/amy_vic





	No Words Needed (I can read the apology in your face)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [raedbard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raedbard/gifts).



"Toby?"

Toby turns, puts his keys in his pocket, and blinks. Thinks he must be hallucinating due to lack of sleep.

The hallucination comes up the steps, takes him by the shoulders and pulls him into a hug.

Not a hallucination, then. Not just a fever-dream brought on by the stress of the past 60 hours.

It's Sam.

"I heard about Zoey, and then Josh called and told me about Andy-god, Toby, that's _incredible_, congratulations-and I wasn't sure if you'd need," Sam trails off and steps back, watching Toby's expression transform from shock into slight annoyance, which frankly, Sam likes better. He's used to seeing it, at least. "Well, not that you'd need help. But then Josh mentioned that you were here, so I figured that I could do something somewhere, right? And I'm sorry I just got here now, but they only opened the airports once word got out that Zoey was okay, but there was still a massive delay with security, and I-"

Sam breaks off as he realizes that Toby's looking at him with a slightly amused expression. "Why are you looking at me like that, Toby?"

"Sam, do you know where you are right now? To say nothing of what time it is?" Toby raises an eyebrow questioningly.

Sam actually checks his watch, and Toby can't help but chuckle. "Yeah, so?"

"Sam, it's five in the morning, and you're in D.C.! Right now, you're on the other side of the country from where you're expected to be. I mean, what did you do, tell them you had a family emergency?"

Sam shrugs, a little defensively. "Not quite."

"Oh, no? How did you explain it, then, Sam?"

"I told my deputy that my friend was dealing with having babies at the same time as his boss's daughter had been kidnapped, and that he'd probably need some fucking help," Sam spits out. "But, hey, if you think you can handle it all by yourself, go right ahead; I'll check in to my hotel and get some sleep before I fly back to Anaheim."

Sam turns to leave, but stops when Toby says his name. (He wasn't really going to leave; sometimes he just likes the feeling of getting the last word.)

"Sam, I...fuck, I didn't mean that. Listen, I'm gonna grab a coffee from the place on the corner," Toby says as he rubs his forehead with the back of his hand. "You want to dump your stuff inside, come with me?"

Sam nods, and Toby gets his keys out again.

Bags tucked into the corner of the hallway and the front door locked once more, they start walking towards the coffee shop. It's normally a quiet part of town anyways, but at this hour, not even the garbage trucks are out yet. Toby exhales heavily. "Sam, it's just...things are a little insane, to put it mildly. Pretty much everyone is on edge, to some degree, and with Walken here now, a lot of stuff's up in the air."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Sam says quietly, as he falls in step beside Toby. Not surprisingly, Toby doesn't say much else-aside from ordering his coffee-until they're back outside his apartment building. They sit on the front steps and sip their coffees; Sam watches Toby pull a stubbed out cigar out of his pocket. He relights it before he speaks.

"I asked Andy to marry me," Toby says.

Sam nods. "Again."

"Yes, Sam, again. This time I even had a house to go with it."

"A house." It takes Sam a minute to really process this. When his brain finally completes the circuit, Sam just stares, eyes wide. "Toby, you...you bought Andy a house?"

"I did. You know Jefferson Wyler's house?"

"His place on Rosedale Street?"

"Hmm. My name's on the deed, now."

"_Jesus_, Toby."

"Yeah."

"And?"

Toby takes the cigar out of his mouth and studies the end as he speaks. "And...and she said no. Andy won't marry me again, and she's not moving into the house."

"Toby, I'm sorry. Did..." Sam trails off, wanting but hating to ask the next inevitable question. "Did she give you a reason?"

"For not marrying me again, or not taking the house?"

"Either. Both."

"She said I was...too sad. Which, quite frankly, sounds like a bit of a copout, because I'm not sad, and even if I was, I was exactly the same back when she married me the first time, so I don't see what the damn deal-"

"No, you weren't, Toby," Sam interrupts.

"No I wasn't, what?"

"You aren't the same as you used to be. Sure, you weren't all sunshine and ice cream and puppies, not even when I first met you, but you...you aren't quite the same guy, Toby."

Toby looks at him curiously for a moment, and goes back to drinking his coffee. They sit in silence for several minutes before Toby stands up, brushes dust off his pants, and pulls his keys from his pocket. Sam stands as well, thinking he's about to be handed his bags and wished a safe trip back to California.

"I'm going to stop by Andy's place, she how she is. Want to come meet my kids?" Toby says.

Sam grins. "Yeah, okay."

~~~~~

Sam opens the door carefully, because he can't see if Andy's asleep or just resting.

"Toby?"

"No, Andy, it's Sam."

Andy blinks and smiles sleepily at Sam as he sits down next to the bed. "Sam. Hi. Did you see...Toby's here somewhere, if you want?"

"Yeah, I saw him. He's downstairs, talking to your mom. How are you feeling?"

Andy giggles. It sort of startles Sam for a moment, because he's never seen Andy like this, but then he remembers what she's gone through in the last 48 hours, and then he thinks that Andy might be a little stoned right now. "I'm...I'm really good."

Sam laughs quietly. "Yeah, I bet. How are the babies?"

"They're good. Perfect. I had them in here with me a little while ago, but then they both got fussy and I can't feed them both at the same time, so..." Andy gestures toward the door. "My mom came in. They're in the nursery down the hall, if you want to go see?"

Sam smiles. "Yeah, I will. In a bit."

"Okay. Sam, shouldn't you be...who's in California right now? Don't they need you?"

"Yeah, but it can wait. I thought maybe that you guys would need me more."

Andy pushes herself backwards so she's sitting upright, pillows rucked up and trapped between her skin and the headboard. She reaches out and pulls Sam into a strong hug, which he returns almost as equally. "Thanks, Sam. Really, I appreciate it. And I'm sure Toby does, too."

Sam snorts. "I doubt that."

"Why?"

"He's, ah, he's kind of pissed at me, I think."

Andy frowns and brushes her hair out of her eyes with one hand. "Why's Toby mad at you?"

"He told me about the house, and how he asked you to marry him again. About how you told him no."

Andy wipes sleep from her eyes and sighs. "Toby's not too bright sometimes, is he, Sam?"

"I don't-"

"Nah, forget it. I just mean...I think Toby has certain ways of looking at things, and he refuses to accept other possibilities. He thinks that if he buys me a house and I agree to marry him again, that what I'm saying by that is that I love him."

Sam doesn't say anything, because he's seen Andy make that face before. It's the same face she gets just as she's warming up to debate a topic that she's sure she'll win.

"I said no to the house, Sam, for the simple reason that I'd already closed the deal on my own new place not three days before, and I didn't want to screw the agent out of the commission when I called her up to back out of the sale. And the marriage thing...well, if Toby thinks that I need to marry him again to prove how much I love him, he's a blind idiot. All he needs to do is walk twenty-five feet down that hallway," Andy finishes, waving one hand in the direction of her bedroom door. As if to emphasize her point, one of the babies starts to cry just then, the sound amplified by the baby monitor on the bedside table

Andy makes a move to shove the covers back just as footsteps come up the stairs, heavy and quick. Sam glances at the open door just as Toby passes. Andy relaxes into her pillows.

"Go ahead, Sam."

~~~~~

Sam hesitates at the doorway. Toby had his back to Sam, and he's obviously holding one of the babies; Sam doesn't want to intrude on the moment.

"Come in, Sam; they have no teeth, and can't bite you," Toby says as he turns around. Sam laughs, but it's a quiet sound; for some reason, he's equating being in a room with babies as being in a library. It's just one of those things.

Sam moves closer, and Toby scrunches down the blanket surrounding the baby in his arms. "Sam, this is Molly. Molly, this is Sam."

"Hello, Molly," Sam says. He moves over to the edge of the crib. "And this is Huck, then, Toby?"

"Yeah," Toby says, and Sam doesn't have to look to see the smile of pride on his face. "That's my son."

"Hi, Huck. I'm Sam." Normally, Sam would feel a little goofy about talking to someone who clearly has no idea what he was saying, but...babies are a different set of rules. He turns to face Toby when Toby steps up and gently settles Molly back in the crib next to her brother.

"Listen, Toby, I...I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't mean it, not like that."

Toby adjusts the thin blanket covering Molly, pulling it down so it isn't near her face. "I know. Listen, Andy's mother is making breakfast, so we'll have tons. You wanna stick around?"

"Sure, I'd like that. Thanks, Toby."


End file.
